This is an alternate throne room scene near the end of The Titan's Curse. Why? Because the original one didn't have what I had been hoping for—namely, a little more relationshop development between Percy and Annabeth. So I changed things around, more than slightly.
It's hard to fight, when the fight ain't fair…-"Change"
"—if this is Olympian justice, I will have none of it!" Artemis finished dramatically.
"Calm down, sis." Apollo sighed, removing his earphones and putting them in a pocket. "Sheesh, you need to lighten up. They're great little heroes. No one's going to disintegrate them." Artemis gave him a scowl, like a little girl snapping at her teenage brother.
"Don't call me sis!" She ordered, before glancing at us. "Now, regardless of whether my fellow Olympians wish to act like Titans or gods, I shall reward these heroes myself! Or two of them, at least." A sick feeling rose up in my chest, and I could practically hear Thalia…
"Annabeth wanted to join the hunters, too. Maybe you should think about why." I would have prayed, but my father was right there, so I just gave him a pleading look. His expression was neutral, but when our eyes met, I somehow felt stronger.
"Thalia, Daughter of Zeus, and Annabeth, Daughter of Athena." Artemis paused elegantly. "Will you join the hunt?" Despite being a goddess, Artemis looked oddly like a teacher trying to get two honor role students to join her club. A dozen different thoughts race through my head, and I literally felt a spike of pain jab at my heart.
"No!" I yelled, half at Artemis and half at Annabeth, grabbing my friend's hand and pulling her back, away from the goddess. The reactions were varied. I saw Apollo grin and give me a thumbs up. Zeus just sighed and rubbed his forehead, as if I was giving him a headache. Hermes looked pleased. My father nodded slightly in approval. Aphrodite was literally crying at the scene. To my surprise, Athena did not seem happy. Thalia looked embarrassed, probably for Annabeth's sake.
Annabeth looked like she was about to double over laughing.
"This is none of your concern, boy." Artemis replied. The irritation in her face made me hesitate, but only for a moment. I was already on Ares's and Zeus's bad sides. What was one more Olympian angry at me? Besides, I felt I was pretty safe from her wrath. Especially with Poseidon, Hermes, Apollo, and Aphrodite watching—they all liked me, to some degree or another.
" 'None of my concern'?" I repeated in disbelief. "I trekked across the country, fought a Nemean lion and dragon's teeth soldiers and dueled a Titan to get her back! And now you're trying to recruit her into your band of maiden hunters and it's none of my concern?!" Artemis looked shocked at my words, like how you would probably look if a squirrel climbed down out of a tree and started arguing with you—while you're holding a machine gun. The hall literally fell silent, aside from the crackling in the fireplace.
"He's so cute! He'd fight Artemis herself before losing his beloved!" Aphrodite sniffled loudly, wiping her eyes. "I wish all your sons were like him, Poseidon."
"Thank you for the offer, Lady Artemis, but I'm afraid I must respectfully decline." Annabeth said politely, grinning. "You see, I, ah, have to stick around and take care of my friends. So they don't get eaten by Canadians, or beat up by the girls in cabin five, (Ares smirked at that) or turned into guinea pigs… you get the idea."
"I accept." Thalia countered, mercifully taking Artemis's attention off me before the goddess could make up her mind and turn me into a rabbit. "I will join the hunt, Lady Artemis."
"Daughter, consider well what you are about to promise." Zeus said, his eyes full of concern.
"I have, father." Thalia said calmly. "I will never be the hunted again. I will never be tempted by Kronos or the Titans. I will not turn sixteen, and the prophecy will not be about me." She repeated the vows after Artemis.
Olympian celebration parties… they are truly memorable. I started wondering if maybe the party alone was worth going on a quest. I should—
Zoe… Bianca. We had lost them both. My steps faltered and I almost tripped as I remembered. In the splendor of Olympus, the finished quest had almost faded from my mind. Nico would be waiting back at camp, but his sister would never return.
The music twisted and became something else, making me wonder—did the Nine Muses let you listen to whatever you wanted to hear, or whatever was closest to how you were feeling?
"Was it worth the ones we loved, and had to leave behind?" A woman sang, a note of grief and desperation in her voice. It almost sounded like Zoe.
"You did do well today." A voice behind me stated evenly. I turned to face a beautiful women with storm-gray eyes. Part of my mind wondered if Annabeth would look like her when she grew up.
"Athena." I said, trying to sound respectful. After she had almost proposed that Thalia and I be killed for safety's sake, I didn't feel very respectful at all. "Lady Athena." I corrected myself.
She saw through my attempt and smiled nonetheless. "Do not judge me too harshly, half-blood. Wise council is harsh, but I spoke the truth. You are dangerous."
"Ares tried to start a war between Zeus and my father, and yet I didn't hear you proposing that he get sent to the Underworld." I countered, a tinge of anger in my voice. "I have done nothing against Mount Olympus and you were practically telling the others to kill me."
"True." Athena said evenly, as if my point was valid but petty. "But Ares will be watched closely. He will not do such a thing again. Your fatal flaw, though, may yet destroy us all."
Fatal flaws. Every hero has one. In the Sea of Monsters, Annabeth had chosen to hear the song of the Sirens, to find out her flaw. It's hubris. Deadly pride. I still didn't know what mine was, and there was no way I was going back to the Sea of Monsters to find out.
"You don't know it?" Athena asked, almost sounding sorry for me, as if she had read my mind. "Think, young hero. How has Kronos attacked you?" A moment passed before I wagered an answer.
"Through my friends?" I guessed. Athena nodded.
"Your mother. Then your best friend, Grover. And finally, my daughter." Athena said, shaking her head. "They were used to bait you into traps. And each time, you eagerly charged forward. You will never cut your losses. You are loyal to a fault, and that is your fatal flaw."
"But it—" I stopped myself. Protesting would only reinforce her point. But I won't fool her by not saying it, I realized. She's right, and she knows what I was about to say. "But it worked," I continued weakly, barely maintaining eye contact with the goddess. Maybe I was wrong, but hiding it would just look pathetic. "I recovered the helm and got my mother back. We rescued Grover, got the fleece, and brought Thalia back to life. And… I did save Annabeth." I said the last part with a hint of pride.
"Very true. You have met success, so far." Athena said, agreeing with me. She was the goddess of wisdom, after all, and not rash like Ares. She wouldn't be angered easily. "But how long will it be until the strength and courage of you and your friends is not enough? When you finally meet failure, how much will be lost? Your life? Your friends' lives? Mount Olympus?"
"Percy!" Annabeth called, maybe twenty feet to my right. She started making her way through the crowd. She probably couldn't see who I was talking to yet.
"I don't approve of your friendship with my daughter." Athena said, a hint of regret in her voice. "I don't think it is wise. And if you begin to waver in your loyalties…" She gave me a cold stare. It hurt, and made me a little angry at the same time. I know she didn't like my dad, but I had expected her to be a little nice to me, since Annabeth and I were friends.
"Percy!" Annabeth suddenly appeared just a few feet from us, emerging from the crowd. She paused, seeing who was speaking to me. "Oh… Mom. Hi."
"I will leave you, for now." Athena strode off, the crowds parting for her as if she frightened them. Thinking about it, she probably did.
"Was she giving you a hard time?" Annabeth asked, looking closely at my face. Her hand rose to the side of my head and brushed a streak of gray hair, almost identical to hers.
"Wise council is harsh." I said weakly, repeating Athena's words. They had sounded a lot stronger, coming from the goddess. Coming from me, it sounded lame.
"Ah." Annabeth said knowingly. She glanced around, like she was feeling awkward or something. "Grover said you wanted to talk to me." I hadn't told Grover anything, but he must have guessed. Satyrs could read emotions, after all. And I had wanted to talk to her. But after hearing Athena's lecture, I didn't know what to say… so I simply hugged her. She gave a small laugh and returned the embrace.
"I'm glad you're back." I told her quietly. A lump rose in my throat, and I forced it down, trying to keep my voice normal. "I really missed you." The moments dragged on, but Annabeth didn't pull away.
"Thanks for bringing me back, Seaweed Brain." She murmured in my ear. "And, for the record, I missed you too." The music changed again, the grief and desperation leaving it. Annabeth must've been hearing the same song, because she started humming the melody.
"I keep your photograph, and I know it serves me well. I want to hold you high and steal your pain," A man sang, sounding weary. His voice faded away briefly before returning stronger, now accompanied by a woman's voice. They sang in slow unison, "Because I'm broken, when I'm lonesome, and I don't feel right, when you're gone away..."
